My husband and I may need to rent out our Alderley Edge basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Alderley Edge conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Alderley Edge do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Alderley Edge.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Alderley Edge where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Alderley Edge conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 300000 garden flat in Alderley Edge in 5 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Alderley Edge?

Alderley Edge conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

What are the common defects that you come across in leases for Alderley Edge properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Alderley Edge. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I bought a garden flat in Alderley Edge, conveyancing formalities finalised 1995. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Alderley Edge with a long lease are worth £269,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2090

With just 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £16,200 and £18,600 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.